This print titled, “The Chief” was originally created in 2009 with approximately 50 hours of drawing time-over a 2 month period. I drew this special piece after seeing the exceptional one-man play, “The Chief” with my father. The performance, history and persona portrayed in this play were so moving that I felt I had to look a little further and create a tribute. In 2010 I was invited to the 38th annual Art Rooney Awards and Fundraiser to display my artwork. Mr. Hines Ward was receiving the award that night, and the promoters used my artwork on easels as the entrance display for the event. They displayed my Hines Ward piece and my Art Rooney piece at the entrance to the event. Both pieces were offered for the auction to benefit the evening. I am so proud to say that the actor Tom Atkins, the man that played the Chief in the one man play now on DVD was the high-bidder for the chief piece. It was an exciting and humbling experience to know that the man that played the Chief in the play for so many years will now have my artwork in his home to remind him of his own accomplishments. Art Rooney Sr.'s accomplishments in the wonderful world of sports are forever unmatched, but it was his work and dedication outside the gridiron that compelled me to commemorate this great man. Look close, do you see what I see?
